Forge marking on my new BCM middy

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

I’ve never seen this marking before:

And just because:

I dig having the HP marking.

2

You got a hat with yours? I didn’t. :frowning:

EDIT: my forge marking looks a bit different. Granted the picture is a bit blurry. Does it look like a pawn (as mine does), or a square (what it looks like in the picture)?

3

Yeah, I got a hat this time around, but not on other orders. It’s a cool hat and fits great. And, yep, it’s a square, which I’ve never seen before:

4

I’ve seen the square on carry handles used by FN and others.

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5

What maker is HP? or is that for High Pressure Test then MP?

Boltgun

6

You “proof” the parts with a high pressure round to stress it then the MP test to look for cracks.

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7

I think the “Square” is the marking for Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises

8

I figured that, but that would be one of the only barrels I recall as having been marked with the “HP”. I know the milspec makers do it but don’t necessarily mark the barrel. ie: Colt Canada.

Boltgun

9

I hadn’t heard of them, but the picture on their aluminum forgings page includes a piece that appears to have the same mark.

FWIW, I have an Oly .45 ACP upper with that mark.

10

Yes, I think it is the only barrel marked that way.

Years ago “MP” served as a proof mark that a M16 barrel (ie: Colt) went through the mil-spec HPI/MPI procedure. After each barrel was proofed and passed it was marked “MP”.
Much of the commercial market took Colt’s marking of “MP” and has used “MP” to mean almost anything. So much so that it means almost nothing. So we chose the proof markings of HP MP so the customer would know exactly what they were getting.

BCM ad copy
HPT / MP Inspected Barrels
Military specifications require that barrels undergo a HPT (High-Pressure Test) load as a part of quality assurance procedures. Commonly referred to as a proof load, the M197 HPT is rated for 70,000 psi. BCM barrels are proof loaded and then MPI (Magnetic Particle Inspected) to detect any possible flaws in the barrels surface. The barrels are MP inspected with both circular and longitudinal magnetic fields per ASTME1444-01 (current Mil-Spec) to assure a high quality finished product. All BCM barrels are marked HP MP as our proof load marking.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Bravo Company MFG, Inc

11

All 3 of the BCM middys I got were the key hole Cerro .:smiley: built 2 stached the other for a rainy day .